Finishes and Start-ups

Would you believe, I finally finished my handspun, designed-on-the-fly sweater vest!

And I have pictures-

Yes, indeed. Actually, I had 99.5% of the knitting a couple of weeks ago, but it was the finishing that held me up in calling it “done”.

I’m really happy with how it turned out, especially considering that I didn’t have a very clear plan when I started out. The only snag I encountered was finishing the cable trim around the back of the neck; I had to do more short-row shaping than I expected to make it lay down correctly. Here is a shot of the back of the neck:

Also, I put the finishing touches on socks I knit while conferencing in Anaheim:

Yes, they are fraternal, though some of the differences are subtle (cable directions and such). I might never do identical socks again! This is a great way to use up odd partial-skeins.

And this is what I’ve been spinning –

Shetland, Corriedale and Romney, in a beautiful range of natural colors to add to the stash.

And so, now the question is- what’s next?

Hats for next Christmas? Another sweater for The Man? a boatload of socks? Whatcha think?

I’m thinking I might soon offer some of my handspun on Etsy.com , as I am spinning faster than I am knitting these days. The plan is that yarn proceeds would go into Denise’s Sheep Fund, to help support the work necessary to make our homestead “sheep-ready”.

So maybe that is the next big project- getting myself organized.

Stay tuned.